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46 minutes ago, Wjolcz said:

I was surprised to read it's going to be SSTO. What even is the TWR and ∆V with three SL Raptors (assuming full fuel and no cargo).

Edit: now that I posted this I remembered it's meant for intercontinental hops, so the TWR is obviously more than 1.

Has been some talk about an P2P version who replaces the 3 vacum engines with 6 surface one so 9 total, it might have more fuel and oxidizer to. 

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1 hour ago, magnemoe said:

Has been some talk about an P2P version who replaces the 3 vacum engines with 6 surface one so 9 total, it might have more fuel and oxidizer to. 

Doesn't need extra fuel and ox. The Single Stage PTP was an unexpected outcome when they modeled too-shallow reentry, the kind of thing Apollo 13 barely avoided and that almost killed Neil Armstrong in the X-15(I think?) rocketplane. By planning for it, they can get more range than they expected out of near-orbital velocity.

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I wonder if they track the number of people who watch these streams and if there's a significant dip for the expendable launches.  There is for me, anyway, since I primarily watch for the landings and won't be going out of my way to watch this one.

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2 hours ago, Geonovast said:

I wonder if they track the number of people who watch these streams and if there's a significant dip for the expendable launches.  There is for me, anyway, since I primarily watch for the landings and won't be going out of my way to watch this one.

Rocket launches is not primarily an spectator sport.
If it was I would add lots of SRB who would decouple while burning 

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12 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

Rocket launches is not primarily an spectator sport.
If it was I would add lots of SRB who would decouple while burning 

What if we get to the point in civilization where rocket launches are a spectator sport?

The implications... The possibilities...

There has never been a more pressing reason to become a post scarcity society.

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19 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

What if we get to the point in civilization where rocket launches are a spectator sport?

Wait... It isn't already?

3 hours ago, Geonovast said:

I wonder if they track the number of people who watch these streams and if there's a significant dip for the expendable launches.  There is for me, anyway, since I primarily watch for the landings and won't be going out of my way to watch this one.

I've seen viewer count drop dramatically after the booster lands on previous occasions.

Edited by Wjolcz
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17 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

What if we get to the point in civilization where rocket launches are a spectator sport?

The implications... The possibilities...

There has never been a more pressing reason to become a post scarcity society.

Problem is that spectator sports should have some chance of fail, this is all fun if he end up with the face in the mud, loss of aerodynamic stability at hypersonic speed has more impact. 
Now base jumping from an space station MOLE style might become an thing. 
Obviously an civilization like Klingons or Kziin  would have other safety standard but I assume it would still be personal 

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Just now, magnemoe said:

Problem is that spectator sports should have some chance of fail, this is all fun if he end up with the face in the mud, loss of aerodynamic stability at hypersonic speed has more impact. 
Now base jumping from an space station MOLE style might become an thing. 
Obviously an civilization like Klingons or Kziin  would have other safety standard but I assume it would still be personal 

Unmanned rockets controlled manually and remotely by pilots. Bam. Sport.

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Just now, ThatGuyWithALongUsername said:

Unmanned rockets controlled manually and remotely by pilots. Bam. Sport.

In that case use drones with V1 style pulse jet engines flying an maze, more fun,  as you can not have spectators on site you can arm the drones with machine guns even more fun, you can also add special effects like the blue shell. 
 

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We’re pretty close to a real contest right now, there’s an Atlas over on that other pad. I say set both T-0 to the same time and first one to orbit wins! :cool:

Bonus points if the expended boosters fight on the way down. -_-

And FWIW, there was an attempt at actual rocket spectator sport. Sadly, it went the same course of most rocket startups...

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The opening paragraphs from the novel Grand Central Arena, by Ric Spoor.

Quote

“Watch the next keyhole, Ariane, that stand-up guy’s going to try to force a scrape—or worse!”

Ariane Austin heard the concerned voice in her helmet as she pulled round the third turn, spinning Whip Hand and then relaxing the gyros, lining up the nuclear rocket blast through instinct and experience, firing to skirt the marker asteroid and get on a vector to pass through the next course obstacle—the “keyhole” that Carl had mentioned. The power of the rocket pinned her to the acceleration chair with the thrilling force she sometimes felt was drawn from and through her, making her feel a part of the little racing ship.

Just ahead of her, no more than twenty kilometers—or about a second and a half at their current course-relative speed—was “that stand-up guy,” Hawke, the legend of the racing circuit. With enhanced vision, she could just make out the dagger-sharp shape of Hawke’s ship Lobo, with its stubby wings for racing courses that had atmospheric sections. “Carl, he’s not going to try that. He’s got a one-point-five lead on me; why would he cut it down low enough to make the keyhole an issue?”

“Because,” the voice of her control engineer and crew chief answered, “he knows you’re better than he is at the driftmaze part of the course.”

Ariane couldn’t argue that he might have a point. She’d shaved almost three seconds off the last time through the driftmaze, and the rest of the pack was so far back that they weren’t even contenders. If all Hawke had coming out was that one-point-five, there was a good chance she’d pass him in the driftmaze, and with only half the circuit left, Hawke would have damn few chances to make that up.

And Hawke is slowing, dammit. I’m catching him.

Unlimited Space Obstacle Racing rules were pretty relaxed. You couldn’t deliberately ram your opponent . . . but forcing them off the course, bumping them pretty roughly by “accident” at critical moments, or even hitting something in order to leave debris behind you and in your opponent’s way were not against the rules. It was that kind of no-holds-barred competition that made it a very, very popular viewing sport . . . and one with the highest mortality rate of any sport in the system.

ps. LOL at the forum's auto-censor changing the word for a person born out of wedlock to "stand-up guy".

Edited by mikegarrison
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2 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

What if we get to the point in civilization where rocket launches are a spectator sport?

Well...aircraft have already been there, as have earlier rockets.  People used to go to the airports to watch them take off and land.  Some still do.  With adjustment for the fact rockets launches are rarer and harder for most to get to, I imagine it has and will do the same.  Of course, exceptions for major milestone launches.

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